by Barbara Delollis, USA TODAY

by Barbara Delollis, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - When the luxury Capella Georgetown boutique hotel opens in January, it will offer its guests an unusual perk: exclusive access to prime space where they can relax without worrying about who might walk in the door.

The hotel - with just 49 rooms - is reserving its spacious rooftop deck for guests only, as well as a main floor living room near the elevators that's centered around a fireplace, says famed hotelier Horst Schulze, CEO of Capella Hotels and Resorts.

It's the latest example of how some hotels - mainly higher-end properties in cities such as Washington, New York and London - are reserving space for their premium paying guests.

Hotels have long had club-floor rooms and lounges filled with complimentary snacks and beverages, but access to these spaces are restricted to guests who pay premium rates or are upgraded. There's no need to pay extra to access these new spaces, although you'll pay for any food or beverages that you order.

Guests can also receive complimentary neck, back and shoulder massages, canapés in the afternoon and the services of a lounge host throughout the day who can book restaurants or check people into their flights. Guests can order food and cocktails throughout the day and evening.

The lounge also highlights two of the hotel's famous neighbors in chic Covent Garden: London designer Paul Smith chose 50 cocktail table books published by Rizzoli. The books cover art, fashion and photography, with titles such as "Cecil Beaton: The New York Years" and "The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles."

The space previously housed a small café and the hotel's florist, Rombough says. The hotel created the lounge to gain an edge over rivals.

"Guests have hundreds of very good luxury hotels to choose from in London," Rombough says. "It was apparent - because our guests told us so - that a private lounge would be a big reason to keep them coming back."

* New York. At The Benjamin in Midtown Manhattan, guests find a quiet, couch-filled lounge on the second floor near the hotel's meeting rooms.

"It is a very popular place to relax, get a little work done or partake in one of the best of all NYC activities - people watching," Labetti tells USA TODAY's Hotel Check-In.

The AKA Sutton Place in Manhattan, one of nine AKA extended-stay properties, opened its high-design, guest-only lounge last year. Its Central Park location also has a guest-only lounge. Next year, the chain plans to open a guest-only penthouse bi-level Sky Lounge at its AKA Times Square created by international architect and designers, Piero Lissoni and Nicoletta Canesi.

"We decided to develop an exclusive, residents-only lobby-level lounge area as a sanctuary for our long-term residents," said Elana Friedman, AKA's marketing vice president. "We could have explored opening these lounges up to the public, but felt it was more important to ensure (guests) have a tranquil place to unwind as well as experience a sense of community."

When Hyatt opened its Hyatt 48 hotel in Midtown in August 2011, it opened it with a guest-only lounge on the second floor. When guests enter the Lexicon Lounge in the morning, a host greets them and offers them coffee, tea, juice, pastry and fruit. During other times of the day, guests can order a complimentary cup of coffee or even a cappuccino or espresso. In the afternoon, guests will be offered artisanal cheese and, for a price, wines by the glass or bottle. Guests won't find a television set; instead, they'll find a selection of Assouline books and newspapers.

* Washington. At the 49-room Capella Georgetown, guests will have access to two prime spots, including a private room that centers around a fireplace near the guest elevators. They'll also have exclusive access to the hotel's rooftop, which will feature an indoor/outdoor pool with sweeping city views, along with a lounge and sundeck.

"The hotel is telling the guest that when you stay with us, your experience is not limited just to the room," he says. "It helps support the premium price, and for celebrities or even regular travelers, there's the added promise of privacy and security."

Since the recession, many full-service hotels have sought to transform little-used space - whether an old administrative office, a money-losing restaurant or retail shop, or even an old boiler room - into more active spaces that produce revenue by catering to a larger audience: the public. The downside to that is that some hotels have become packed with outsiders. In the worst-case scenario, that could mean that a guest can't get entry into a hotel nightclub or a seat by the hotel pool.

"At the end of the day, the hotel has to remember that it's in the business to attract and provide value to paying guests," Harteveldt says. "I think this is smart."

Offering restricted access has made places such as Disneyland's Club 33 private dining room and Lufthansa's first-class-only lounge in Frankfurt popular among elites, he says.

Will this trend take off?

Expect this trend to remain limited.

One challenge hotels could face in creating super-exclusive spaces is potentially negative perceptions from the community, Harteveldt says. Hotels will need to be careful how they position and market this sort of space so it comes off as "valuable and special and not snooty and arrogant," he says.

"The last thing you want to do is have the neighborhood make derogatory comments," he says.

Another challenge is return on investment. If a hotel owner is looking for a specific profit on the space, perhaps by increased sales of snacks and cocktails, then restricting its use to a smaller pool could affect revenue.